Disney has recently announced that it will be shutting down most of its television channels in Southeast Asia and also Hong Kong as part of the company’s effort to further grow its streaming services. It is actually a part of the company’s global effort to pivot towards a direct-to-consumer-first model and further grow its streaming services.
The channels set to be shut down include Fox, Fox Crime, Fox Life and FX, movie channels Fox Action Movies, Fox Family Movies, Fox Movies, and Star Movies China. Sports channels Fox Sports, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports 3, Star Sports 1, and Star Sports 2 will also be shut down. Other than that, Disney Channel and Disney Junior, as well as factual services Nat Geo People and SCM Legend, will be axed. These are the channels’ last footage before shutdown.
@kenkengamingphReply to @ashcasteller All Last Footage of Channels Before Shutdown #disney #disneyjunior #foxmovies #natgeopeople #natgeo #shutdown #channel
Disney+ which is the company’s streaming service is currently available in two Southeast Asian markets Singapore and also Indonesia. The company said it will continue to roll out the service in more markets in the region including Hong Kong this year. The decision to shut down channels will not be uniform across markets since each market is different from the other. The decisions made in individual channels and also individual markets, and the timing of such are sort of framed up by existing deals that they have gotten some of the constraints we have got there, but as many people can see, that continues to be a core strategy for the company as they pivot towards direct-to-consumer.
Consumers are increasingly choosing to watch content online, and Disney wants to stay ahead of the trend. They have stated that they don’t want to be on the back end of that wave. They want to be on the front end of that wave.
Sources: TikTok KenKenGamingPH.